Advice Hub

I love colour! And now where is it more present than in the Sun Terrace Borders of my own garden in June & July!  A 'room' within my garden, the sun terrace was created to make the most of the early morning and evening sun. A slender rectangle of sandstone paving, with a central feature pointing towards North, South, East and West, there is a beautiful teak bench on the East and West axis, which are perfect for soaking up the sun rays. 
The paving is surrounded by deep borders filled with a riotous selection of perennials, and a few select shrubs and grasses. The planting provides year-round colour and interest but reaches a crescendo in the early summer months. 

I was contacted by the owners of this garden back in July 2018.  They had just bought the property and were having an extension built at the time. I visited shortly afterwards to see how we could transform the  rough messy lawn and overgrown shrubs into a low maintenance elegant space for the clients to enjoy.  They longed for a greenhouse, planting beds and seating areas for entertaining family.  There was limited space to play with and the garden was overlooked by several neighboring properties. 

Bel created 2D and 3D design plans and visuals for the garden to show the clients how the space could be transformed. These were accompanied by mood boards showing the features for the space along with dimensional plans for the landscapers to use whilst setting out the various patio, pathway and planting beds. A scope of works was also provided which detailed the work involved in landscaping the garden and which could be used by the landscaper to draw up a quote for the works. Find out more about the Garden Design Process ...

The beauty of using evergreens in the garden is obvious in that they provide the basic structure of the garden. Many a garden has a handful of evergreen shrubs dotted around to fill in gaps or screen off walls and fences. Often they tend to look pretty boring – dark green foliage with little in the way of interest. But if you choose wisely, you can select evergreens to add colour, texture, flower and a fresh look during the grey winter months. Here are some of my favourites:
Mahonia – Some gardeners will know Mahonia as a brut of a plant which when not controlled can become a thorny monster!The new cultivar M. ‘Soft Caress’ is a much smaller dainty cousin of the above, with yellow blooms and soft thorn free feathery foliage – good for pots.  However if you need a tall plant which will cope with clay soil and shade then M. ‘Winter Sun’ is the plant for you. It flowers prolifically during the winter with bright yellow flowers over deep green foliage. This one will get to 6ft plus but can be pruned back every 3 years or so to keep it under control...

When the trees start to lose thier leaves at this time of year it's a sure sign that the dormant season is upon us. It’s the perfect time to transplant bare-root plants – those which have been raised in a field and then lifted & the soil removed. The added bonus of bare-root plants is that they are much cheaper than container grown plants.
 Autumn is a good time to plant them as there’s time for them to settle and establish before the warmth of the spring comes.  Trees & shrubs are available bare-root and from November onwards they’ll be offered in garden centres, nurseries and online.  As the plants are dormant there’s not much to look at but when selecting plants look for undamaged branches & bark to ensure the plants are fit and healthy...

​It's that time of year again when gardeners can be found busy planting bulbs. Whether it be for a clients garden or my own i use a selection of traditional favourites like Daffodils, Tulips and Alliums chosen for their hardiness, suitability for our local clay soils, height and most importantly their colour.  I like to create colour combinations which suit the planting designs i’m creating for each client.  Tulips are particularly useful for creating waves of colour in that first year whilst the other plants establish. Below are some of my favourites which can be picked up from garden centres now.
Tulips –They are available in every colour under the sun and look stunning through the months of March, April & May.  They can be planted directly in the ground or in plastic plots to be plunged into gaps in the border whilst they flower and then lifted out to make space for something else later on.  Tulips can look fantastic when planted in blocks for a contemporary look or in waves amongst other perennials... 

Privacy is a real hot topic in garden design at the moment. With new housing developments, space is at a premium and so often is privacy. I am regularly called to see gardens which are overlooked by neighbours, the clients keen to create a space which feels relaxing and private. I have looked at the 'hard landscaping' options like timber screening and structures in a previous article - 'Garden Screening - Using Structures for Privacy' and now i want to look at the greener option of using planting to form a secluded oasis of calm.